“There is a mismatch between the way companies like to hire people and the way graduates and young professionals like to get hired.” Paul McCormick has represented a half dozen of the biggest names in the banking world in his 30 years as a fixed income trader. Now he works as a graduate recruiter for Thomson Reuters, and also writes a blog, Opening City Doors, that helps graduates and young professionals find a place in the London financial scene. He says most companies’ recruitment flow charts run from the top down – internally, personal referrals, LinkedIn contacts, professional recruiters –…

MarketsWiki Education is headed back to London next month for another round of our World of Opportunity speaker series geared toward “the next generation of market participants” – college students, interns, young professionals and anyone interested in the financial markets. We will hold three sessions, one on October 14 and two on October 15, all at Nasdaq, Woolgate Exchange, in the heart of the City’s financial district. The events feature executives from the CME Group, Nasdaq, London Metal Exchange and Euronext as well as fintech entrepreneurs, proprietary traders, bankers, regulators and more. Registration is officially open! With generous support from…

FinTech Exchange Chicago 2015, hosted by Barchart, was held on April 23 and featured a host of great speakers. Scroll down to see the “Best of the Lightning Round” video, or several of the full presentations. To see the full layout and design: click HERE.

Today’s financial technology dialog is often about a word you don’t usually associate with it – democracy – bringing software, data, reporting, testing and trading to the masses. And it’s not just one size for everyone – its customizable too. At the FinTech Exchange 2015 Chicago event, 13 firm executives spoke during its lightning round and one prevailing theme was the shift in technology from “tools you can use” to “tools that help you design what you want.” Drew Shields, director of product management at Trading Technologies, said that his firm is more focused on using a variety of technology…

The WMBA Americas hosted SEFCON V on November 12, 2014, and John Lothian News was there. We interviewed 14 SEF operators, regulators and participants and put together this three part series on the state of SEFs one year into the mandate. Part III looks at the new market structure brought about by the creation of SEFs and the regulations that guide them. While many of the pieces are now in place, this structure is still taking shape, and in some cases, the rules have led to uncertainty and unintended consequences in the market structure. View Part I: Technology and Innovation View…

First Read Bits and Pieces By John J. Lothian For the 11th consecutive year, the CME Group held its annual Trading Challenge for college and graduate students. This year there were more than 1500 students from 31 countries trade CME Group products across various asset classes on a real-time professional platform. Meet the Winners: jlne.ws/1jBcQgi The top performing students are eligible to win cash and “exclusive CME Group experiences.” I am not sure what the latter means, but understand it does NOT mean having to wash and wax anyone’s Bentley. According to the CME Group, “this competition is an annual…

Invest in our Industry’s FutureSign up your Interns and Summer Workers Today for our Education Series I want you to make an investment in the future of our industry, our markets and our common good. I want you to sign up your interns, your summer workers and even newer employees for our Chicago-based Intern Education Series. We have put together an impressive list of industry leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, attorneys, technologists, investors, traders and other industry participants for this series. Your interns and the like should be part of the audience for this program. I believe this will be an investment…

Commentary & Insight John Lothian Announces Summer Intern Industry-wide Education Program in ChicagoJohn Lothian – JLNJohn J. Lothian & Company, Inc. is pleased to announce today the creation of a Chicago-based industry-wide summer intern education series to introduce the history, innovation, key leaders and future opportunities to participating interns, summer workers, new employees and those interested in careers in the trading and markets. The series, which kicks off on July 16, features presentations from a select group of industry leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, attorneys, technologists, investors, traders and other industry participants.Click here for more information and/or to purchase tickets. Lead Stories…